Leicester city council’s plans to introduce a workplace parking levy have been dropped following a campaign by Unite, the UK’s leading union.
The levy would have resulted in businesses with 10 or more employees being charged £550 a year for each parking space.
Unite argued that costs would most likely be passed onto already hard-pressed staff by the employers.
The council said the levy had been dropped due to the impact of the cost of living crisis on people’s finances.
Unite regional secretary Paresh Patel said:
“Following significant interventions to councillors from Unite branches across the city, the workplace parking levy has now been dropped. This is a victory for workers and common sense has prevailed.
“National government really needs to invest in local cities like Leicester to ensure public transport is more effective and greener if they are serious about tackling climate change at a local level. Workers should not be asked to fund such initiatives through local stealth taxes.”